Life As it Could Have Been
by Splendora-C.A.M-McGonagall
Summary: AU story in which Kate and Jenny do not die. We follow Elizabeth Caitlin Rutter and Team Gibbs through life starting the day Lizzie becomes a Field Agent. Many bumps will come up, will the team survive? or will they break apart? Read to find out. Some very mild anger issues and minor swearing ahead. Enjoy.
1. Prologue Introduction

**This is my first NCIS fanfiction. Honestly I did not even start watching the show until about 2 1/2 months ago but as of an hour ago I have officially caught up. This story is going to be AU as some of the character deaths in the show do not occur in this. We learn a way that it is possible (though the way is not one that is realistic but that is the beauty of fiction) and we see relationships develop that we wish had developed in the show. Anyway enjoy.**

**Disclaimer:This is the only one you are going to see for the story so I own absolutely nothing other than Lizzie, Jessica, Kyle, Jackson (the baby), Nathan, adult Kelly, currently 8 year old Kelly, Joseph, William, Zachary, Sophia, Eric and the twins. All of whom you will meet eventually and learn a little about them.**

Prologue

September 19th

Dear Diary,

I am finally able to say that I am one of the new agents of NCIS who will probably move on to the MCRT whose leader is none other than the famous Leroy Jethro Gibbs. If I am placed on this team I would be placed with my uncle Tony, he married my Aunt Caitlin (whom I am named after) when I was eleven years old, our family friend Timothy McGee, Ziva David aka Uncle Tony's new girlfriend and last but not least Agent Gibbs. I can't wait until next month to get my assignment!

Elizabeth Caitlin Rutter (Lizzie)

~Time Skip~

October 13th

Dear Diary,

Today is my first day on Team Gibbs, officially as an agent anyway, I am only two days short of my twentieth birthday. I am starting to slip back into my usual feeling of guilt as I share a birthday with my Aunt Kate and we can't spend this time together yet again. You see she died when I was about twelve years old. But let's get on with the happier stories now shall we?

Lizzie


	2. Chapter 1

**AN:Here is the official first chapter. I hope you enjoy it. Please read and review.**

**Chapter 1**

"Welcome to the team Lizzie!" my Uncle Tony said the second I stepped off of the elevator.

"Thanks Uncle Tony. Please don't start calling me Probie otherwise I will have to kill you one of the three ways I know how tonight at dinner with one of the uncooked spaghetti noodles. That is something I was taught back in seventh grade at Gallagher" I threatened.

"Hello Lizzie, glad you are a part of the team." Ziva said.

"Thank you Ziva. You had better not even think about trying to cover me I will make the call for myself who I want to do that. I did work for the Secret Service for two years right out of Gallagher. If you even think about doing something you know I would not like I will know and you will be sorry." I said.

"Does little Lizzie need help keeping her temper under control today?" McGee teased.

"Don't start with me today Tim. My day has already started off badly. First off, my first alarm did not go off, then I missed the Metro I was supposed to catch in, then not paying attention I got on the wrong transfer Metro, then my favorite coffee place was packed, then I was seeing things, now everyone is giving me crap about almost being late." I said getting slightly more irritated by the second.

* * *

"Either way glad you made it in. Let's celebrate with your first dead marine down at Quantico." Gibbs said with a sly smirk.

"Actually Jethro, I need Special Agent Rutter here to go through something I wish to know more about in her personal file," came the Director's voice.

"But Director you can do that when we get back. She knows a few languages that Ziva doesn't and we need her since the witness speaks one of those languages. Special Agent Rutter list the languages you know fluently." Gibbs ordered.

"Fluently I know all of the languages taught at Gallagher. They teach: Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, Hebrew, Arabic, Croatian, Sweedish, Russian, Hindi, Latin, Gaelic, Czech, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Indonesian, Korean, Romanian, Thai, Turkish, Ukranian, Swahili, and Estonian. Which language do you need?" I asked.

"We don't know which is why we need you with us. Local LEOs have the witness in custody and have gotten him to write what he saw but they can't read it." Gibbs replied.

"I will go too. Agent Rutter will ride with me. This matter cannot wait. I have tried to clarify with my friends at the CIA when they called but she needs to be the one to talk about it no one else," the Director said giving Gibbs a death glare.

"Director Shepard may I speak with you about something in private? Something odd happened this morning and I can't talk to anyone on the team about it as I don't want to confuse them." I asked quickly before Gibbs could reply with a sharp no.

"Fine, Director, you win. You can come and bring Elizabeth with you. However, I will be talking to you about this later. What is everyone doing still standing around? Grab your gear and head out!" Gibbs hollered scaring me but seemingly no one else.

* * *

**(In the car with Jenny)**

"So, Special Agent Rutter, I was looking through your personal file and noticed in the relative section that you are related to the deceased Agent Todd and are related to Agent DiNozzo. As I was reading the details in your file one of my contacts at the CIA called me and told me something that created some confusion in your profile. Your file says your Aunt died eight years ago, whereas my contact informed me that within this week a Special Agent Caitlin Todd will be rejoining the forces of NCIS," the Director started.

"Are you saying my Aunt Kate is actually alive? I SAW HER DIE IN UNCLE TONY'S ARMS WHEN I WAS TWELVE!" I pretty much yelled. I then took a deep breath and calmly continued, "Sorry about the yelling. First though, the reason I wanted to talk to you was I thought I was seeing things this morning. I thought I saw my Aunt Kate at the coffee shop we used to go to whenever I came to visit. She was the one who got me addicted to this place's hot chocolate. I had just picked up my order and started to leave I saw a woman who looked exactly like my Aunt Kate only with hair that was a VERY light blonde color." I said starting to cry. "Whatever you do make sure it is really her before you tell Uncle Tony."

"Don't worry I will be meeting with her at lunch time today and will check her out. Now…" Director Shepard started before her phone rang, it was Gibbs, and she pulled over to answer it.

"Director Shepard."

"…"

"Jethro we will be there when we get there."

"…"

"Jethro this is an IMPORTANT matter that could possibly affect your whole team so deal with it!" she said hanging up on him.

"Now where was I? Oh yes, I was about to ask you to explain to me what you meant when you were yelling a while back." She said bringing up the one thing I did not want to talk about.

"Well Director, I planned on telling someone about this eventually so I may as well tell you now. I had been attending Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women in Roseville, Virginia and since Aunt Kate and Uncle Tony lived so close to the school I was allowed to go and visit them during long weekends. We had a long weekend starting the day Ari getting ready to get in position. When I realized what was going on I went faster to reach everyone. When I got to the rooftop I heard gunshots so I thought everything was okay again, but then I saw Ari positioning himself so I should have yelled for them to get down but being twelve I was more afraid of getting caught and ended up freezing. Next thing I knew there was another gunshot and Aunt Kate fell and died in Uncle Tony's arms. To this day I feel guilty because had I not frozen she would still be alive and we would be able to celebrate our birthday together in two days." I said finally letting someone in on the biggest secret of my life and the reason I would not celebrate my birthday normally ever again. "Please do not tell Gibbs or Tony, they would never forgive me. If it had not been for me Aunt Kay may still have been alive. But, can we just go so I can do my job then leave and go home?" I asked.

"Sure we are at the crime scene now so let's get you set up." Director Shepard said getting out of the car and walking toward Gibbs.

* * *

"Special Agent Nathan Cross of the CIA. You must be Special Agent Elizabeth Rutter. What brings you back to a CIA investigation? If I remember correctly you left us with some choice words in Estonian about a week ago." Nathan Cross, my boyfriend, said as he saw me come onto the scene.

"Cut the crap Nate, you know why I am here. Just bring me to the witness so I can do my job." I said in a tone of voice Nathan knew meant I was pissed off.

"Right this way Agent Rutter. I promise you I will take care of her Agent Gibbs feel free to just keep processing the crime scene." Nathan said trying to lead me away from the group.

"No offence Agent Cross but unless Special Agent Rutter says you cannot bring her without another female agent." Gibbs said looking at me with a concerned look.

"He was my partner Gibbs. I trust him and do not want anyone else to come with us." I said letting Nathan lead me to the witness.

When we were far enough away from everyone else I felt Nathan's hand slip into mine pulling me closer to him. He then whispered in my ear, "I caught a glimps of his statement. It looks like it is in Romanian. And since we are now alone do you mind telling me what has you so annoyed today? We just had another agent quit this morning, she is also transferring to NCIS. It the office gossip is she used to work there then was called on an eight year long assignment with the CIA, it would have been a lot shorter but she got captured and tortured and was brought back only a month or so ago. On top of that there is gossip her NCIS co-workers and some of her family aka husband, kids, niece, and sister thought she was killed on her NCIS job eight years ago. Here we are good luck getting him to talk he did not speak to me. His name is Zaharia Croitoru."

"I will talk about it all when we get home for the night. I am going to be late tonight so I can meet with the Director about something after I finish my report, since this looks like an open and shut case. Thanks for the tips." I said giving him a quick kiss before walking away..

* * *

**(Scene Change)**

"Zaharia Croitoru, is the name of the witness he is Romanian. CIA Agent Cross was the one who gave me the tip and he told me some other stuff I need to talk to you about Director. So let's see how this goes, luckily I did well with Romanian especially compared to Agent Cross." I said informing the Director and Gibbs of what they would be seeing and hearing while I was questioning the witness.

"Alright, get questioning so we can get home and do our jobs." Gibbs said impatiently when I opened the door to the interrogation room.

I read Zaharia's statement and translated it for the file. The original copy was indeed in Romanian it said, 'Am iesit din casa mea și a fost doi bărbați, victima și vecinul săude pe strada. Locuiesc trei case în jos de la victimă. Jared a scos un cuțit în timpul lupta și înjunghiat Alexander trei ori stânga al centrului de piept. Simțiți-vă liber să mă întrebarea dacă puteți citiși vorbesc limba mea.' which translates to, 'I walked out of my house and there was two men, the victim and his neighbor from across the street. I live three houses down from the victim. Jared pulled out a knife during the fight and stabbed Alexander three inches to the left of the center of his chest. Feel free to question me if you can read and speak my language.' Naturally I came up with the five main questions to ask. Some of them I know the answer to already to others I did not.

"Cum te cheamă? _(What is your name?)_" I asked.

"Zaharia Croitoru." he responded.

"Vorbiti orice mai ușor limbi decât limba româna? _(Do you speak any easier languages than Romanian?)_" I asked.

"Un pic foarte putin din engleză, dar nu suficient pentru a fi în măsură să răspundă la întrebările sunt sigur că aveți avea. _(A very little bit of English but not enough to be able to answer the questions I am sure you have.)_" he answered much to my frustration.

"Cât de bine știați Alexander?/Cât de bine stii Jared? _(How well did you know Alexander?/How well do you know Jared?)_" I asked losing my temper a little more with each short answer I received.

"Abia ştiu Jared dar Alexander şti română şi am fost în stare să-l cunosc un pic, dar nu foarte bine. _(I barely know Jared but Alexander knew Romanian and I was able to get to know him a little bit but not very well.)_" came Zaharia's reply.

Next came the moment of truth…hopefully I would get a nice long response. "Ai auzit ce lupta a fost de aproximative?_ (Did you hear what the fight was about?)_" I asked.

"Jared crezut că Alexander culcat cu logodnica lui, dar Alexander negat. Apoi, Jared numit Alexander un mincinos și a scos cuțitul și l-au ucis. Cred că Jared era beat pentru că el nu a fost stabil la ridicarea în picioare._ (Jared thought that Alexander slept with his fiancé but Alexander denied it. Then Jared called Alexander a liar and pulled out his knife and murdered him. I think Jared was drunk because he was not stable when standing up.)_" Zaharia replied with the most detailed response of the day.

Finally time for the last of my prepared questions, "Care sunt ultimele nume Jared lui și lui Alexandru?_(What are Jared's and Alexander's last names?)_" I asked.

"Ce sunt numele de ultima Jared's și Alexander's? _(Jared's last name is Decombi and Alexander's was Johnson.)_" he replied.

"Stai unde ești. Eu voi fi din nou dreptate. Va trebui să vină înapoi la Yard Marinei pentru mai multe interogatoriu. Eu voi fi din nou în a vă anunța într-o clipă._ (Stay where you are. I will be right back. You may have to come back to the Navy Yard for more questioning. I will be back in to let you know in a moment.)_" I said leaving Zaharia in the interrogation room.

"I think we have enough information to bring in Jared Decombi for an interview. Can I let Zaharia go and tell him to stay home so we can contact him if we need to?" I say walking into the observation room to see Gibbs kissing the Director.

They pulled apart quickly when I walked in. "So Agent Rutter no one hears of this little incident." Director Shepard said sternly.

"Not a problem Director. Here is the information I received, am I good to let Zaharia go home? I implanted a tracking device somewhere he will never find it and never feel it. So if I am done for now I need to go speak with CIA Agent Cross about something." I said out of fear.

"First tell the witness to go but stay at home until further notice." Gibbs said then stopped to think. "Then go talk to Cross. Just make sure you are back in the Squad Room by 1530."

"Thank you Sir, we will be." I replied leaving to let Zaharia go.

"Ești liber să pleci. Doar asigurați-vă că pentru a rămâne în cazul în care pot ajunge la tine, dacă avem mai multe întrebări. _(You are free to go. Just be sure to stay where I can reach if if we have more questions.)_" I said letting Zaharia leave.

* * *

~Time Skip~

Five minutes later I was back in Nathan's arms. When we were all settled I started our lunch conversation.

"Thank you for your help with the witness today. He was not very talkative though. So far today just sucks all around. Do you know the name of the Agent you were saying quit this morning? I have a feeling I know but want to confirm it." I asked.

"Agent Todd, she looks just like your Aunt from the pictures you have showed me. How about we bring you back early? The Director should be finished her meeting with the new agent by the time we get back so hopefully we will be able to catch a glimpse of her. It is also a good way to stay on the boss's good side to show up early, especially on your first day." Nathan said confirming my thoughts.


	3. Chapter 2

**AN:So here is the next chapter. I would like to explain a bit of this a little bit. As you can tell this story is AU. It takes place during the current times and most of the stuff that happened did in fact happen but some of it did not as you have been able to see. As for the details of the mission since it is AU I decided to get creative with how it happened so please don't get upset that the way it happened is not a fully possible way. Please read and review.**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

{Director's Office}

[Jen POV]

I sat in my office waiting for one of the agents I brought back to arrive for a debriefing on what has happened over the past eight years. While waiting I started thinking about how I would tell Jethro the secrets I have been keeping for him over the last fifteen years for one, and another for only about the last three weeks.

"Director Shepard, Special Agent Todd has arrived. Shall I send her in now?" Cynthia asked from the doorway snapping me back into reality.

"Send her in please." I call out just as the agent came into view.

* * *

"Hello Director. It's nice to see you again." the new agent said as we shook hands.

"Hello again Agent Todd. We have two options on how to do this debriefing. Option one is you can tell me everything now then tell the team again later once you are settled in again. Or option number two we get the team in the conference room so you only have to relive everything the one time. It is up to you which way we do this. I know you want to talk to Tony and Elizabeth before the others find out but, I should all find out together. By this time tomorrow Gibbs will already have three secrets from his team, he does not need a fourth. I have to run down to the lab quick so I will let you decide how you want to do this. You can tell me what you decide when I get back." I say hoping to get out of having yet another secret to be kept from Jethro.

~Time Skip~

"So have you decided which way you want to do this or do I have to go have a talk with Gibbs about the results I just got from Abby?" I asked hoping she had decided so I could let the news sink in on its own.

"I think I have a third option. How about I tell Tony and Lizzie in private the version they are supposed to hear as my family then together we tell the official Agents need to know version? And is there any way we can do this in MTAC?" Agent Todd suggested.

"While you do that I will prepare everyone else in MTAC, just come down when you are done. See you there soon hopefully." I say going to get the team where they needed to be when it was time for the announcement.

* * *

[Kate POV]

I could not believe that in a matter of seconds I would be seeing my husband and niece again. It has been a long eight years without them. Seconds later the door to the Director's office opened one again and this time there stood two of the most important people in my life.

After what felt like a lifetime Tony spoke, "K-Kate is it r-r-really y-you? I-I thought y-you w-were dead. I s-saw you die. Y-you d-died in m-my arms."

"Aunt Kate its really you! I thought all day that I was seeing things. Then Nathan told me you were the new CIA transfer. Now you are here! How? I say you die but I could have saved you if I had not frozen." came Lizzie's rattled reply.

"How about we get comfortable and I tell you the 'family version' of what happened? After that we are joining the rest of the team in MTAC and you will all hear the version of the story that the CIA wants only Agents to know." I say trying my hardest not to cry.

"I still need to confirm it is you. Everyone has a unique way they kiss. So kiss me and I will know for sure." Tony said closing in for the kiss. Overtaken by passion I kissed him and he instantly knew it was me so naturally he melted into the kiss until we needed air.

"Now it is story time. First off let me say this was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I was called the morning before our encounter with Ari, by the Director of the CIA. He was trying to Blackmail me into a mission since it involved a close friend of mine. He told me he would hurt everyone on the team and my family if I did not do it. The CIA loaded a gun with blanks and left it where Ari could get to it. When he shot I was hit with a blank that was formulated to look like it had killed me. In reality I made my own heart stop for only a moment then once alone I found a way to replace my body with a person who had been surgically altered to look like me after they were dead. Then I placed traces of my DNA on her before leaving for the mission. I can only say for the family version that I was compromised which led to my capture and torture. However, after about eight years in captivity I escaped and got back as soon as I could. I have missed you all so much. I love you both so much." I said letting out what I have been wanting to say since I arrived back in D.C.

"When did you get back?" Lizzie asked.

"Just last night around 2345 hours. I debriefed and got the stories I was to deliver to who and when." I replied.

"When do you tell the real story?" Tony asked.

"Now down in MTAC. It's time for us to head down there." I replied.

* * *

{Meanwhile in the Squad Room}

[Gibbs POV]

"Jethro call Abby, Ducky, and Palmer up here. When they arrive we will all go into MTAC so that you can meet the newest agent to your team. After her there will be one more but she will not arrive until later in the week." Jen said as she came to the landing at the top of the stairs.

"Hate to tell you Director but DiNozzo and Rutter are not here and no one knows where they are and we can't get in touch with them." I said quickly. "McGee call the others up. Ziva keep trying DiNozzo and Rutter." I commanded.

"Ziva, no need to call Tony and Elizabeth. They are in with the guest and she will bring them down when they have finished." Jen replied just seconds before Ducky, Palmer, and Abby arrived in the Squad Room.

Upon seeing them Jen started giving us orders. "Alright everyone we have to move into MTAC and I will quickly brief you on what is going on up in my office right now." she said.

* * *

Less than a minute later I was closing the door to MTAC after Jen told the techs they could take an early day so we would not be disturbed. "Now, I know you all have questions as to why I asked you here. There are two reasons. One of my office would not fit all of us plus the three members of your team that are already there in it comfortably. Second is because there is already people in my office talking about the same thing you are about to hear but a different version of the story." she said.

"Director what is this about?" Abby asked.

"How about we settle in while I talk? To answer the question, I have recently expanded your team to accommodate three new members. Two of whom you have all met already. The first to join was new to the agency when she applied, Agent Rutter. The second all of you except Ziva will recognize immediately. Before you ask I will give you a short background and you will know by that who it is." Jen started nervously.

"Are you alright Jennifer? You look as if you are ready to pass out." Ducky said quickly and full of concern.

"I am fine Dr. Mallard. As I was saying...the second agent has worked with most of you before. She was an agent about eight years ago. Those of you who worked with her became close to her, mainly Abby and Tony. She is a link to you all through the two team members that are missing. Finally turn around and look at the door, she is about to enter the room with Agents Rutter and DiNozzo." Jen continued until the door to MTAC opened to reveal Tony, Lizzie, and Kate.

"Wait there is now way that could possibly be Kate. She died eight years ago. I saw it happen. Someone please explain what the hell is going on here!" I demanded.

* * *

[Lizzie POV]

"Hello everyone I would like to start off by breaking Rule 6. I am SO sorry if I have hurt you. I was only supposed to be gone for about a month but that quickly turned into eight years. I have been cleared in all ways possible to return here and to the field." Aunt Kate said as we settled into the room.

"Wait, what do you mean by Rule 6?" I asked and it seemed I was the only one that did not know what was going on because everyone began to laugh.

"We will teach you all of them this weekend." Uncle Tony replied between laughs.

"As I was saying what you saw was the CIA faking my death so that we could take down the Circle of Cavan but give me time to get the clearance to tell you about that. For now I will just tell you what happened to start the case. The day before we went to the rooftop I got a call from the CIA Director, Jonathan Henderson, saying I must be the one to go on an extraction mission. He said he had something he would use to blackmail me if I did not show up within forty-eight hours of the call ready to go to Rome. He also said when I opened the door the next morning there would be a new protective bulletproof head protector. Sure enough there was along with a note saying that in order to successfully complete this mission I needed to fake my death. The way I did that was by stopping my own heart for a short while then replacing the body with an already deceased and surgically altered look alike and plant my DNA all over the body. Then I left immediately for Rome to start the assignment. I have been cleared to tell you certain things including the fact that I was compromised which led to me being captured and tortured. Due to my being weak from the torture it took me months to years to escape and return, I am not sure how long because time melded together, then after carefully avoiding recapture multiple times more I finally made it back to D.C. at 2345 hours last night. I have been debriefing since 0700 hours and been taking mandatory tests to return to active field work since 1100 hours." Aunt Kate explained.

* * *

"I still can't believe it is really you Kate! I know I should be royally pissed off that you lied to us but I can't help but be excited that you are back." Abby said running over to Aunt Kate and brought her into a hug so tight I swear I heard bones cracking.

"Kate, I have missed you. Whenever Tony has done anything stupid on a case I picture you telling him off for his stupidity." Tim said also hugging her.

"Caitlin, you must tell me soon how you pulled it off without me being able to notice that anything was off." Ducky greeted my Aunt.

"Kate I can't believe its really you!" Palmer said giving Aunt Kate a quick and awkward hug. That left us with only Ziva's reaction.

"You mean to tell me that I killed my own brother because Gibbs wanted to avenge your death and you weren't really dead? Tony why did you not tell me about this? I fell in love with you and trusted you!" Ziva screamed.

"Zee, I did not know myself until about half an hour ago that, any of this had happened! I love you too just not in the way you want me to. Kate has been the love of my life since I met her ten years ago, I do love you Zee but more like a brother loves a sister." Uncle Tony said trying to calm Ziva down.

"Ziva, I had no idea what was going to result but Ari needed to die, he had been trying to kill most of this team for over a year and he almost succeeded twice in that one week span. Please don't hate me. I would like to get to know you and have the chance to work with you." Aunt Kate replied trying to break the ice.

"Don't hold your breath." Ziva said coldly. "Director, I am going home and taking tomorrow to decide on my next move career wise."

"Very well Ziva, when you decide what you want to do let me know so I can make the proper arrangements." Director Shepard replied.

* * *

**AN 2: Any guesses what the secrets Jenny is keeping are? What could possibly be the results that Jen got from Abby? Who is the new Agent that has yet to join the team? Review your guesses and find out. **

**AN 3: I know some of the characters are OOC but being AU I decided to deviate a little bit but I am trying to get as close to their normal as possible. Hope you enjoyed. You can expect another new chapter by the end of the month. (I have a long writing process but I had plenty of time this week to write so this came out sooner than originally predicted.)**


	4. Chapter 3

**AN:Sorry this is about a week late. Things with life got busy and was not exactly sure which way to make this go for some of the chapter. I have also decided to change some of the info around such as Kate and Lizzie's birthday will now be closer to Halloween so about a week or so later than I had originally planned it to be.**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

[Kate PoV]

"Can Tony, Lizzie, and I head out early so I can get to know Joseph and Kelly?" I ask excitedly desperately wanting to get to know my children.

"Go be with the kids tonight and come back bright and early tomorrow. I want you focused and ready to work. I need you to be able to profile the subject during questioning and if that makes him squirm in a holding cell tonight, so be it." Gibbs said as we were all walking out of MTAC.

"I am just going to call the sitter and tell him that Lizzie will pick the kids up early. Meanwhile I will bring you home and tell you the important details about the shorties." Tony said.

"Alright but we need to switch who calls since I have to talk to Preston anyway. He wanted my help picking out the engagement ring he is going to get for Macey." Lizzie said pushing the button in the elevator.

* * *

~Time Skip~

(DiNozzo House)

"So I am going to tell you about Joey first, then Kelly. Joey is physically my double but personality wise he is all you. He is already so smart and kind, the teacher had nothing bad to say about him last week at the parent-teacher conference. Now Kelly...she is totally physically you. It was rough the first few months because of how much she reminded me of you. Personality wise though she is more like me. They both have the same teacher and she only had one complaint about Kelly. That complaint was about her work ethic, she likes the fact that Kelly gets ahead but she does not like how Kelly just decides to goof off once she is far enough ahead that she doesn't want to do anything else." Tony said just as the front door of our house opened.

* * *

"Daddy, daddy, daddy!" came two small voices from the hallway.

"Shorties remember what I told you about behaving tonight? Now when we go into the living room we are going to see someone you will recognize from stories and photos. You both need to be on your best behavior tonight so the guest doesn't get scared away." Lizzie said leading the kids into the livingroom. "Lizzie you can bring them in now. Uncle Tony has given me descriptions. I just want to meet my kids and start being mommy." I yelled to my niece.

"Daddy showed us a video last week that he made like two weeks after we were born." Kelly said excitedly trailing off.

Not too surprisingly, if my 'profiling skills' are correct, due to their closeness Joseph picked up where Kelly left off saying, "We asked daddy who the lady in the video was and he told us she was our mommy. The lady looked and sounded exactly like you. I am Joseph Arthur DiNozzo and this is my twin sister Kelly Marie DiNozzo."

"Kids, I would like to introduce you to your mother. Do you remember me telling you that mommy used to work with daddy and that sometimes daddy or someone else might go on a case and either not come home for a long time or get booboos that would make it so we can't come home?" Tony asked. Both kids nodded so he continued, "Well mommy was on one of those cases where she did not come home for a very long time, but she is home now."

"How do we know it is really mommy?" Kelly asked.

"Well Kell-bell both daddy and Lizzie made her pass a test before we brought her here." Tony said.

"Oh." Kelly replied appeased at that response.

"So daddy tells me you are both very smart. He also tells me you are both very active. Do you guys want to go play at the park and then go somewhere to eat?" I asked the kids.

"Can Lizzie come too? We like playing with her at the park." Joseph asked.

"I think that can be arranged buddy. I was going to ask the same thing. I want to spend as much time with your mommy as I can." Lizzie replied squatting down hugging both kids.

~Time Skip~

[Tony PoV]

It was great to see Kate with the kids again. It did not even seem like she had been gone for eight years.

* * *

(Squad Room)

~Next Morning~

[Lizzie PoV]

Between when we left work last night and when I sat down at my desk this morning the BOLO placed on Jared Decombi came back and we now have him in the interrogation room ready to talk.

(Interrogation)

"Jared we have a witness who saw everything." Gibbs started.

"Dude I am telling you nothing happened. Miranda left me about a month ago. She had to go back home to Boston." Jared said.

"First off you DON'T address me as 'Dude'. It is Gibbs, Special Agent Gibbs, Agent Gibbs, or since you are a main suspect in a murder you can call me Sir. Now why don't we go over my facts again. Agent Rutter since you had the pleasure of getting the facts from the witness how about you give them back to us. Do it in English though since no one else here speaks Romanian." Gibbs said with a sly smirk.

"Alright Gibbs I have the facts to be a credible witness by the name of Zaharia Croitoru. Next I have his statement saying that Jared here found out that our dead Lieutenant Alexander Johnson slept with his fiancé Miranda Rizzoli. The statement and questioning revealed that a small fight happened and Jared stabbed Johnson. And further research our people did showed that Lieutenant Johnson had a security system with cameras. Our research also shows that one of the cameras has a perfect view of where the murder occurred." I said just as I got a message from Aunt Kate. "And one of our Agents just sent a message saying that they just finished the tape of the murder and that it was in fact you that killed Lieutenant Johnson, Mr. Decombi."

"Well Agent Rutter why don't you do the honor of closing your first case with the arrest." Gibbs said opening the door to leave.

As soon as Gibbs opened the door Jared took off running. "I will be back in a few minutes. I am going to get him back here. Adios." I say starting after Jared.

~Time Skip~

(Squad Room)

Less than fifteen minutes later I arrived back at the Navy Yard with Decombi cuffed and in custody. Absolutely no sweat or shortness of breath. "Case closed." I said smirking at Gibbs.

* * *

[Ziva POV]

Throughout last night and today, I thought about what I would do now that my life has been turned upside down. I weighed all of my options carefully before I made my full decision. I am going to go in tomorrow and give the Director and the rest of the team my final decision. For now I will just go and finish the chores I need to do around the house...mainly packing up.

* * *

~Time Skip~

(Navy Yard)

"Hello Cynthia is the Director in yet? I am here to give her my decision about my fate here at NCIS." I said wanting to get this all over with.

"One moment." Cynthia said informing the Director of my presence.

"Send her in Cynthia. Then please run this drink down to Abby I still owe her from the other day." the Director said quickly.

Once inside and sat down I got straight to my point. "Director I have made my choice on what I want to do about staying here or not." I said.

"I see and what is your choice?" she asked.

"I have decided to stay with the Agency but am requesting to be transferred to a different base as soon as humanly possible." I request.

"I believe that there is an opening in our Los Angeles Division that I can transfer you into. How about I have you starting there two weeks from Monday." the Director suggested.

"I will take it." I replied.

"Now I think we should tell the rest of the team before too long." she said.

"I think telling them now would be our best option." I said heading back to the squad room.

(Squad Room)

[Gibbs POV]

I walked in after my morning coffee run with one for me and one for Jen. Walking into the squad room and did a quick head count on my team. I quickly saw McGee and Rutter going over Rutter's report before she submitted it, then I looked over at DiNozzo's desk and saw him and Kate laughing about something I probably don't want to know about. I notice that Ziva was missing which meant one of three things: 1) she was late, 2) she had called in and someone else took the call or 3) she was up in Jen's office. When I looked up and saw Ziva walking out of the Director's office alongside Jen I decided option 3 was the most likely. I held out one of the coffees out to Jen she looked at me and smirked as she took the cup.

The silence was awkward until Ziva spoke up. "I have officially made the choice of what I wish to do about my situation. I have spoken to the Director about it a few moments ago. We have decided it would be best if I transferred to Los Angeles. I start there two weeks from Monday."

"We are going to miss you here Ziver." I said starting the line of goodbyes.

"Goodbye Ziva hopefully we will work with you in the near future." McGee and Agent Rutter said practically in unison.

"We will miss you here Ziva…" Tony started.

"I am sorry it had to go this way." Kate finished for Tony.

"Can we please not tell Abby, Ducky and Palmer right now? I will tell them at a dinner some night soon probably tonight so they don't feel left out." Ziva begged.

* * *

~Time Skip~

(Gibbs' House)

[Jen POV]

It is finally time for a team dinner where Ziva will reveal to Abby, Ducky and Jimmy that she is transferring to L.A. Everyone has just shown up. "Welcome everyone I am glad you all could make it." I said.

"Thank you for hosting this dinner Gibbs and Director...sorry Jenny as we are out of work. I would have done it myself but all of my boxes are ready to go for tomorrow and in the way of everything." Ziva said.

"Wait, I did not know you were moving Ziva. Where will you be moving to?" Ducky asked.

"Actually I am moving to a place just outside of L.A. as I have put in and was accepted for a transfer to the branch of NCIS in L.A." Ziva said making the announcement.

"You are leaving us? When are you leaving?" Palmer asked.

"I have about two weeks before I start, but I am leaving tomorrow so that I can settle in before I start working." Ziva replied.

"We really will miss you Zee. Hopefully we will get to work with you again eventually." Abby said running up to Ziva giving here one of the famous Abby bone-crushing hugs.

* * *

**AN 2: The next chapter for sure the secrets between Jenny and Gibbs will come out. We will also meet the third and final new member of the team. I will say right now that the new team member's full story will not come into light until closer to the end of the next chapter so that I can get all of the secrets out. I also changed one of the secrets so it is now just 2 secrets and one of them is in two different parts.**


	5. Chapter 4

**AN: Who is ready to read Jenny's secret's finally? Well one of them anyway. Sorry for the long wait. I hit some bumps in the road while writing this chapter and had to figure out which way would work best. Hopefully you enjoy the way it turned out as much as I enjoyed writing it. So please read and review with answers to the questions in the AN at the end!**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**[Gibbs POV]**

"Jen, I was going to talk to you about something tonight over dinner but then we decided to have a team dinner. We have been taking our relationship very slowly this time around, which is great and we can know what we want, but I was going to ask you tonight if you would officially move with me? I want to move somewhere new and live our lives together without any ghosts from either of our pasts getting in the way." I blurt out not able to hold it in any longer.

"I love the idea of that Jethro. But first I have a couple of confessions to make. They are huge and you may not want to stay with me." Jen says seriously.

"Whatever it is I am sure we can work it out. Remember, I love you." I replied.

"How about I bring out a bottle of bourbon and we talk. I have been trying to find a good time to tell you everything. I was going to do it tonight then like you said we decided to have our team dinner." Jen replied.

"Fine give me two minutes then we will talk." I said giving her a kiss.

* * *

**[Jenny POV]**

Jethro and I are finally going to have a serious talk. I am finally going to tell him about Eric and Kelly. Kelly is supposed to be back in the D.C. area the day after tomorrow. Eric is also coming home this weekend to meet his father. It took me 13 years (almost 14 years) to get enough courage to even think about telling Jethro his daughter was still alive and had been being raised by my sister AND that we had a son together as a result of our relationship that spanned the entire time we were in Europe. At least until I left him with only a not just days before I found out that I was pregnant with Eric.

"Jenny are you okay? You look like you have seen a ghost and are about to pass out." Jethro said concerned pulling me out of my deep thought.

"Yes I'm fine. I was thinking about how to say everything I need to say." I started as he sat down pouring our drinks. "I think I will start by breaking Rule 6 and apologizing that I did not tell you about either secret when I first returned and knew the truth." I said crying.

"Either secret? As in more than one?" Jethro asked confused.

"Yes Jethro, I have two secrets. I have been keeping both for the last fourteen years. Since I know we have only half an hour to talk I will keep this semi short." I started.

"Jen what the hell are you talking about? We have all night." Jethro said.

"Let's start this off by going back to Paris in our minds. More specifically when I left Paris. Remember how my note said I was offered a chance at my own team and I had to leave right away in order to take it so I did? Well I was only there for the last three days of July before I started getting sick. After a week of being sick but having no symptoms of any normal sickness I bit the bullet and went to a doctor. I found out the next day that I was six weeks pregnant. It took me until I was eight weeks in before I decided I could not face telling you about the baby so I would raise it on my own and lead my team to believe that the next guy I started seeing would be my child's father. Then the week before Halloween I remembered the stories you told me about taking your daughter out trick-or-treating when she was little and I had just found out that the baby was a boy so I pictured you teaching him about sports and boats and woodworking and I decided I would wait until after he was born to tell you about him. On March 20,2000 I gave birth to our amazing son Eric Jasper Gibbs. I raised him to believe you knew about him and would eventually come back. I told him about three years ago that you really did not know about him but I was going to send you a letter explaining everything but I could not do it Jethro." I explained.

Suddenly before I could get another word out the door opened and Eric entered the house. "Mom, I'm here what did he say?" came Eric's voice as he turned the corner into the living room.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my house?" Jethro asked gruffly.

"Jethro, this is our son Eric. Eric, this is your father Leroy Jethro Gibbs. How about we take Eric to drop off his bags in one of the spare rooms upstairs then we can all come back down here and talk?" I suggest as we reach the stairs.

Less than a minute later we were at the room where Eric would be spending the weekend. Jethro went in and turned on the light as Eric went in to put his bag on the bed. I then quickly shut the door and blocked it so they could not get out. "Le us out of this room Jen!" Jethro yelled.

"Not until you have both talked through your issues. And don't think of telling me some bullshit story about how you don't have any issues with Eric or anything to do with him because I know you do still have your issues that he will understand. ERick I know for a fact that you also have issues with your father that he will understand so talk and get to know each other because I am not letting you out until you do." I say as I set up a chair to watch the door since I know this is going to be a long night after all I still had to tell him everything I know about Kelly and her situation. Hopefully Eric does not start talking about what he knows about the situation.

* * *

**[Eric POV]**

"It's looking like mom will not even consider letting us out of here for at least an hour. I want to get some stuff out of my system." I said my blood starting to boil.

"Go for it Eric. Tell me how much you hate me for not being around. I honestly was never told about you until moments before you arrived or else I swear I would have been there." said the man I have been mad at for as long as I can remember.

"That's the problem! You say you just found out, but I know mom told you about me when we moved back to the states when I was five then when I was ten she said she told you again and that you would be there for me yet you never came! I am thirteen I needed you to help me train for P&E at Blackthorne but you were never there! Did you ever care?" I asked screaming and crying letting my mask fall.

"Eric I promise you I just found out tonight. Yes I am a bit upset with your mom for not telling me but I do care about you. Now that I know you I always will! I know you may not want to call me dad yet but if you do great. If not you can call me either Gibbs or Jethro until you feel comfortable with me." he replied trying to calm me down.

"I want to call you dad it just doesn't feel right yet so until it does I will call you Jethro like mom does. I have a test on Tuesday when I go back to school in my Countries of the World class and one in my Protection and Enforcement class. I need help with P&E but I don't want mom to teach me the fighting I need to do, so I am behind because I needed you and you were never there!" I yelled.

"I am here now. I will be here from now on always and forever bud. How about you take a swing at me now then tomorrow we can go to do a training session with my team and we can work to get you to where you are supposed to be for this class. Any other daddy issues?" 'Jethro' asked as I swung and hit him square in the jaw, which totally hurt by the way.

"Why did you not come for Kelly, Jessica, Kyle and Jackson? They need you too. Kelly needs you to help her get herself and her kids away from Aaron. She has needed her 'daddy' but you were not there. She has been waiting for you to come for twenty-two years but you never did. Mom told her you would after she realized who you really were yet you still never came!" I say letting out the thing that bugged me the most about everything.

"Eric, I have not gotten to telling him that yet! I was going to but you were early." my mom said running into the room.

* * *

**AN2: How will Gibbs handle the second secret? What is the reality of what Kelly has been going through? How will the team react to meeting Eric? How will this effect the relationship between Jenny and Gibbs? Review your answers to help determine which way the story will go!**


End file.
